Donald Trump’s Claims About Shaky U.S. Economy Debunked In New Report

The share of people holding a job has gone up ten percent since 2010, a panelist told Roland Marin.

The overall income of Americans grew at the fastest rate on record in 2015, with paychecks getting their biggest boost since the end of the Great Recession.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the overall median household income increased 5.2 percent from $53,000 in 2014 to $56,0000 in 2015.

Income for African-American households rose to $36,900 in the biggest jump since 1999, but is still far behind the 2015 White income level of approximately $60,000.

The nation’s poverty level was also impacted and dropped from 14.8 percent to 13.5 percent, the largest single-year drop in nearly 50 years.

These figures compiled by the Census Bureau seem to debunk Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S. economy is performing poorly and support President Barack Obama’s assertion that the economy is slowly improving.

Economist William Spriggs from the AFL-CIO and professor at Howard University joined Roland Martin on NewsOne Now to discuss the good news about the American economy.

Spriggs said the nation has experienced a record 78 straight months of job growth. As for African-Americans, “The share of people holding a job has gone up ten percent since 2010.

“A big chunk of African-Americans have been able to enter the labor force and that contributed to the raising of the median income,” he said.

On the political side of the data compiled by the Census report, Dr. Wilmer Leon, Political Scientist and host of Inside The Issues, opined, “It is going to be very difficult for the Republicans to spin positive economic numbers – particularly numbers that are this good.”

Though the news is promising, NewsOne Now panelist Farajii Muhammad, host of Listen Up, said, “It’s important for us to keep in mind that as this growth continues to happen, we’re still looking at a community that is in need.”

Muhammad suggested African-Americans look at entrepreneurship and business development as ways to foster growth within our communities.

Watch Roland Martin, William Spriggs, and the NewsOne Now panel discuss America’s improving economy in the video clip above.